August 15, 2017

My name is Ingrid Valls, I am from Barcelona and I am the one who’s behind Las Teje y Maneje, a blog about new forms of knit and crochet. Since I learnt I have not stopped being amazed with everything you can do with some yarn. Professionally, I shift between graphic design, illustration, social networks and now I can also name crochet. Since some time ago I teach this technique in different places and I have just published the book "Ganchitos. 24 proyectos de ganchillo para todo el año" together with Leire Villar (Ameskeria) with the publisher Gustavo Gili.

To begin with, tell us about you… how did you start in this wonderful world?Honestly, I’ve always had a weakness for handmade stuff and for anything creative. In 2006 I lived overseas for a year (Australia) where I found a Japanese bookstore with beautiful books about handmade stuff. Some of them about crocheted toys totally caught my attention and later on, I found out that it was called “amigurumi”. I had never seen such a thing before and I thought I would love to know how to do it and that I had to find the way to learn. Because of that and once I was back in Barcelona, I started looking for a place where I could receive some classes (I had no grandma to teach me) and then I found Duduá, which had recently opened its doors and which was one of the only places where one could learn the technique. I inscribed myself into a course together with a friend and then the idea of creating a blog was born in order to share our works and all those wonderful and original things one could find in the internet.Para comenzar, cuéntanos un poco sobre ti…¿cómo comenzaste en este maravilloso mundo?
Pues la verdad es que siempre he tenido debilidad por las cosas hechas a mano y todo lo que sea creatividad. En el 2006 me fui a vivir durante un año en el extranjero (Australia) y allí conocí una librería japonesa que tenía unos libros preciosos de handmade. Me llamaron sobretodo la atención unos que eran sobre unos muñecos de ganchillo y que más tarde descubrí que se llamaban amigurumi. Nunca había visto nada igual, y pensé que me encantaría saber hacerlo y que tenía que encontrar la manera de aprenderlo. Así que cuando volví a Barcelona, me puse a buscar algún lugar donde impartieran clases de ganchillo (yo no tenía ninguna abuela que me enseñara) y entonces di con Duduá, que hacía muy poco tiempo que había abierto sus puertas y era de los pocos centros donde podías aprender la técnica. me apunté con una amiga y de allí surgió la idea de crear un blog donde compartir nuestros trabajos y sobre las cosas maravillosas y originales que se podían encontrar por aquel entonces en internet.

You are a graphic designer. Do these two worlds come well together (graphic design and crochet or knit)?Yes they do, mostly at the time of using the jacquard technique where crochet and graphic design or simple pixel illustrations come perfectly together. Graphic design also implies to be up to date, something I always consider at the time of thinking and creating a crochet pattern.

August 8, 2017

Last months have been a real madness. So little free time because of my job, then all the workshops I had already programmed plus the "Proyecto Colcha Express Tour" left me almost no free time to work on new designs. But it has been totally worth it because thanks to that I had the chance to give a workshop at Tricotoki, for example.

Needles to say that this fact made my visit to this shop much more special. I had already been there a few years ago, but this time I it wasn't just being there: I gave a workshop, I ate sweets and drunk a nice coffee, I touched every single thing they have, I buy a lot of things and was offerd some others. Is it or isn't it something to repeat?

This amazing endless corridor full of colours makes you feel as the very Alice going into the Wonderland and once you get to the end (if you actually get to and don't die of Stendhal syndrome before), then Bingo! There is the workshops area plenty of other cool things.

When I travel and I get to do some good craftourism I always enjoy buying some souvenirs, normally things that I wouldn't find easily, or things that I'm just waiting for the right moment to buy. Well, I think that this is the shop where I've found the most different products so far. I've been there twice and both times I've bought a lot of "things that I don't know exactly what are they ment for but I shall buy them just in case, you know..."

Also in Tricotoki they host a lot of original workshops and knitting parties where you can feel how people got to meet each other and evengtually become friends. For this is how I felt among my students when I was there. This beautiful shop is in 15, Cosme Etxebarria Street.

August 1, 2017

My name is Laura, I’m 27 years old and I am from Córdoba. My father is also from Córdoba and my mother comes from Galicia.

The first time I wrote an entry about crochet I did it for my old blog, where I also talked about pastries. Its name was Sweet&Knit. That was around 4 years ago… somewhere around 2013. When I decided to turn my passion into my job, Sweet and Knit changed into Susimiu.

I created a new website around a new idea and I gave it a new image, concentrating exclusively in the crochet world, precisely in the use of t-shirt yarn, leaving behind anything related to confectionery. That was around a year ago but my story with crochet began much earlier.

During my whole life there were crochet blankets made by my grandma all around my house, of all shapes, sizes and colours. I’ve always liked them but it was something that did not quite catch my attention yet. Suddenly, any other day I decided to learn making them myself (something that seemed impossible to me at that time).

That way, little by little and helped by the internet, making and unmaking things thousands of times, I learnt all the stitches and tricks. A couple of months later I had finished my first blanket and as I was very proud of it, I wanted to share it with the rest of the world through a blog including all the necessary patterns to be able to make it. That’s how I started this wonderful adventure, always by Bob’s side, my English bulldog.

I’ve made and designed Susimiu’s web myself, after many hours of work barely having any knowledge. It is in that web where I have my blog now together with my online shop where I sell every product I design and make by hand.

I think we mainly choose our work out of love but there’s a time where we all must choose. When did you first realize that this is what you wanted to do with your professional life?At the beginning, I started as a hobby on the same way many other crochet enthusiasts do. Back then around 3 years ago, I did not think about doing it professionally. I had a blog where I used to share everything I made but most of all it was about pastries. This blog’s topics were quite general and it was called Sweet and Knit.Further on, when I started crocheting, in particular with t-shirt yarn, I started sharing my works in that blog and once I saw that people liked it, I was really pleased. I must admit that making a living out of my hobby was not deliberate but I just made the decision from day to day. Nowadays I don’t regret at all that I did :)Creo que todos nos dedicamos a nuestro trabajo principalmente por amor, pero hay un momento en el que todos nos vemos obligados a elegir. ¿Cuándo te diste cuenta de que era esto lo que querías hacer en tu vida profesional?
En un principio comencé en este mundo como hobby, como la mayoría de personas aficionadas al ganchillo. Por aquel entonces, hace ya más o menos tres años, no se me pasaba por la cabeza hacerlo de forma profesional. Yo tenía un blog en el que compartía todo lo que hacía, pero sobre todo repostería.Era un blog con una temática bastante general. Se llamaba Sweet and Knit.
Más adelante , cuando empecé con el ganchillo, y más concretamente con el trapillo, comencé a compartir en aquel blog mis trabajos, y al ver que a la gente le gustaba….me animé bastante.He de reconocer que hacer de mi hobby mi profesión, no fue algo muy premeditado, si no que de un día para otro, me decidí a dar el paso. Y a día de hoy no me arrepiento para nada :)

Considering how this job fulfils your professional expectations, was it very difficult to reach this point?It was not at all. I guess that’s because when you are lucky enough to turn your hobby into your job there are many advantages. I spend my days doing what I like the most and it truly satisfies me.En la medida que este trabajo te llena profesionalmente, ¿fue muy difícil llegar a ese punto?
No fue para nada difícil. Supongo que será por que cuando tienes la suerte de que tu hobby se pueda convertir en tu trabajo, muchas cosas son ventajas. Me paso el día haciendo lo que más me gusta, y eso me llena completamente.

Throughout the years and considering your professional expertise, do you think that people have changed their minds about crochet?Absolutely, it has changed from 4 to 5 years ago until now. Before, people including myself thought that crochet was “something for grannies”. My own grandma spent her afternoons making crochet blankets and back then I never even thought about learning how to do it. All of a sudden it changed and crochet became trendy again and that’s why maybe I started doing it. I regret I did not start before!A lo largo de los años y a través de la experiencia que tienes, ¿crees que la opinión general de las personas con respecto al ganchillo, ha cambiado?
Desde luego pienso que esa opinión ha cambiado, de hace unos 4 o 5 años hasta el día de hoy. Antes la gente, incluso yo misma, pensábamos que el ganchillo se trataba de “algo de abuelas”. Mi propia abuela se pasaba las tardes tejiendo mantas de ganchillo, y yo por aquel entonces nunca me plantee intentar aprender la técnica…De repente las cosas cambiaron y el ganchillo volvió a ponerse de moda, y puede que por eso mismo, empezase yo en este mundo. Me arrepiento de no haberlo hecho antes!

How do you see the future for the artisans that are starting now? Is there any tip you’d like to give to those who want to turn their art into their work?It is a good moment to “go ahead”. Creators are lucky that nowadays handmade jobs are more valuable than they were years ago. I am not saying that everyone gives it more value, because that’s not the case, but there are many more people who appreciate the added value of a handmade product.It is also true that there’s much more competition but if a product is good and it’s made with dedication and care, it will stand out among the others.What I would advise to those who still wonder if taking the plunge is that they should not be afraid. The best is not overthinking and just making it happen. If everything works out, great! Same if it doesn’t. There’s nothing to lose by trying.¿Cómo ves el futuro para los artesanos que están empezando ahora? ¿Hay algún consejo que consideres pertinente para quien piensa hacer de su arte una profesión?
Es un buen momento para “dar el paso”. Los artesanos tenemos la suerte de que ahora mismo se valore mucho más que unos años atrás los trabajos hechos a mano. No digo que todo el mundo lo valore más….porque no es así, pero si hay mucha más gente que sabe apreciar ese valor añadido que tiene un producto artesano.
También es cierto que hay bastante más competencia, pero si un producto es bueno, y se hace con dedicación y cariño, destacará sobre los demás.
El consejo que le doy a esas personas que aún tienen la duda de dar el paso o no, es que no tengan miedo. Lo mejor es no pensarlo demasiado y hacerlo de una vez. Si las cosas salen bien, genial! Y si no también.Por intentarlo no se pierde nada.

Is there any new project in the future you would like to venture into?I think 2017 will be a great year for Susimiu. I am very excited because I will have the chance to edit my own book which I am working in at the moment.In the other hand, I am planning to add new products to my online shop during the next winter and I believe people will really like them J¿Tienes nuevos proyectos o hay alguna cosa en la que te gustaría aventurarte en el futuro?
Creo que 2017 va a ser un gran año para Susimiu. Estoy muy emocionada porque voy a tener la oportunidad de editar mi propio libro, sobre el cual estoy trabajando en este momento.
Por otro lado, tengo previsto incorporar para el próximo invierno, algunos nuevos productos a la tienda online que creo que gustarán mucho :)